Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
SOUTH WHITLEY - Sitting courtside at Whitko's basketball game Saturday were Jay Esterline and Denver Ayres.
How Whitko coach Dave Henson would have loved to see them out on the floor.
Esterline and Ayres were Whitko's centers the past few years, but both have graduated. Both were physical. Both played tough defense in the post.
Right now, Coach Henson will be the first to tell you nobody on his team fits that description.
For the second straight game, the Whitko Wildcats were manhandled in the paint. Whitko opened the season with a 66-57 loss to Columbia City, allowing 36 points in the paint and 61 percent shooting overall.
Whitko played Homestead Saturday, and the Spartans did what few NBA teams do these days - score more than 100 points. Homestead blitzed Whitko 104-77. And that's in eight-minute quarters.
What took Columbia City one game to do took Homestead two quarters. Homestead had 36 points in the paint - by halftime. The Spartans made 24 of 38 field goals the first half, 63 percent shooting. They finished the game hitting 36 of 64 from the floor, 56 percent.
This is not the same Homestead team that won two games two years ago. The Spartans are much, much improved.
"Coming into the season, I had Homestead as one of the top five teams we would play all season," Coach Henson said. "We weren't playing a slouch of a team. They have a lot of experience. They have big kids, physical kids and good athletes."
Coach Henson, who was livid after the Columbia City loss, showed Whitko's struggles have not zapped away all of his sense of humor.
"No, it's (post defense) no longer a concern," he said afterward. "What would be a stronger word?
"We didn't have any. It's not like we haven't worked on it in practice. We've spent more time on that. I don't know what to say."
The Spartans turned the game into a laugher by halftime.
Homestead runs a Paul Westhead style of offense, where there seem to be two goals: get the ball downcourt with the fewest passes possible, and shoot within 10 seconds.
The Spartans slapped the full-court press on defensively, and this hurt Whitko as much as their post players. Whitko turned the ball over 19 times before halftime.
Homestead 6-foot-6, 240-pound junior center Pete Lougheed did most of the damage in the paint against the Wildcats. He had 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting and 10 rebounds by halftime. Six-two senior Daryn Schwartz had 17 points, 6-3 senior J.R. Ankenbruck 11 points, and 6-2 senior John Marynowski eight points, all by halftime.
Add it all together, and what Homestead had was a 63-37 lead at halftime. The high-powered Spartans had 51 points with 4:04 to go in the first half.
"The first half was the longest half I've ever sat through," Coach Henson. As a player or coach? "The longest half I've ever sat through," he repeated.
"They came down and did anything they wanted at will."
Whitko showed grit by making a spirited run against Homestead in the second half. The Spartans still had their starters in, but Whitko cut a 26-point halftime lead to 15 points at 84-69 with 7:09 left in the game.
Homestead quickly stretched the lead out again, helped by Whitko foul trouble. Whitko starting center Bo Mullins fouled out with four minutes to go in the third quarter, and starting shooting guard Zach Henson fouled out with seven minutes to go in the fourth.
Ankenbruck, Lougheed and Schwartz scored 21 each to lead Homestead. Zach Henson led all scorers with 23 points. Whitko teammate Jeremiah Laws added 14, and Jason Ayres had 12.
"If you can't stop the other team, it's kind of difficult to do anything," Coach Henson said. "We're not going to give up. We're going to keep working at it. We're better than what we look, I know that."
Whitko, 0-2, will be tested in the paint for the third game in a row Friday. The Wildcats host Northfield, who has 6-7 senior center Dwayne Krom.
